Speaker 1: They around the NFL podcast knows there's no basement in
Speaker 1: the element.
Speaker 2: From Austin, Texas. It's around the NFL Free Agency Week
Speaker 2: special edition Sunday edition.
Speaker 1: Was not the plan.
Speaker 2: And yet here we are in hotel rooms giving you
Speaker 2: the information you need. Dan Hans is here, Greg Rosenthal,
Speaker 2: Mark Sessler, and we are in Austin, here, the capital
Speaker 2: of Texas, the place where I got married to my
Speaker 2: beautiful wife twelve years ago. In May for the iHeart
Speaker 2: Radio Awards, and we are up for best Sports Podcast.
Speaker 2: That's tomorrow night. But that's just a personal journey we're on.
Speaker 2: The reason we're here today is to get you caught
Speaker 2: up on Free Agency Week, which has already started. And
Speaker 2: this is different, Greg Rosenthal and did I mention him
Speaker 2: with Mark Sessler? And Greg, I think I did. We've
Speaker 2: done this for many years now. This is the twelfth
Speaker 2: year of the podcast, uh and we've usually been okay,
Speaker 2: starting Monday and go on Monday Tuesday. But there's been
Speaker 2: so much churn going on, so much big news, that
Speaker 2: it necessitated a clearing of the decks. And that's what
Speaker 2: we're gonna do to you do for you guys today,
Speaker 2: Bunker style.
Speaker 3: There's nothing better in life than something it's a surprise,
Speaker 3: little surprise podcast.
Speaker 1: The NFL wants to just.
Speaker 3: Own our lives every every day, every segment of the year,
Speaker 3: and so I think they've kind of extended free agency.
Speaker 3: It used to start like on the Wednesday or whatever
Speaker 3: when the league year started. Then it went to Tuesday
Speaker 3: and Monday, and now it's Sunday. And these are the
Speaker 3: biggest awards shows happening in America this week.
Speaker 4: The iHeart Podcast, but also what would you know, what
Speaker 4: would the best sportscast podcast do? They would land at
Speaker 4: the airport immediately, you know, jet stream to a cab,
Speaker 4: get to the hotel, don't even unpack our bags, set
Speaker 4: our equipment up, record a mic.
Speaker 1: Club.
Speaker 2: What they do It's like check club, Shay, she is
Speaker 2: still coasting off the Cat Williams interview. And here we
Speaker 2: are giving you the content that you need. And yeah,
Speaker 2: like so much has gone down, we're going to get
Speaker 2: into it. And I mentioned, yeah, bunker cast style. If
Speaker 2: listeners that were following us during the dark days in
Speaker 2: the early days of COVID, remember we would give you
Speaker 2: guys a daily news rundown from our garages. And we're
Speaker 2: going to kind of get you up to date. So
Speaker 2: not a lot of bells will whistles to this up.
Speaker 2: It's just what you need to know as the legal
Speaker 2: tampering period opens on Monday. Shall we dig into it?
Speaker 1: Please? All right? Hit it? Eric, So if you.
Speaker 5: Ever got a problem with aged eighty nine, I'm sorry
Speaker 5: for saying that you're an average wide receiver that they
Speaker 5: eventually will move on.
Speaker 1: And when teams called me and.
Speaker 5: Asking should they trade for you, I will say no,
Speaker 5: don't trade for Jerry Judy because he's mentally unable to
Speaker 5: handle constructive criticism from people who watch. Specifically, can he
Speaker 5: be a while receiver? He could be a wide receiver.
Speaker 5: He's a Tier three.
Speaker 2: We're and we're gonna get to Jerry Judy, who's on
Speaker 2: the move. But there's something so crushing about Steve Smith
Speaker 2: having his own little tiers and just dropping it as
Speaker 2: the final line. He's a tier three Ouchers Ouchers. So
Speaker 2: let's get into the big news though. The lead news
Speaker 2: Baker Mayfield. He has signed a big deal with the
Speaker 2: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It is a three year contract, or
Speaker 2: at least that's what it is on paper. It is
Speaker 2: worth one hundred million at least that's what it says
Speaker 2: on paper, but rap sheet says the deal includes fifty
Speaker 2: million in guaranteed money and he can earn as much
Speaker 2: as one fifteen over the next three years.
Speaker 1: He'll never see one fifteen.
Speaker 2: But Greggie, this contract for Baker which comes after you know,
Speaker 2: I don't think he was connected in a couple different places, Atlanta,
Speaker 2: New England, but Tampa always felt like the place he
Speaker 2: would end up. And both sides of this marriage seem happy,
Speaker 2: and they will move forward together for how long we'll see,
Speaker 2: but at least for twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: Yeah, at least one year.
Speaker 3: And we'll circle back to the contractual details, which I
Speaker 3: think are interesting kind of inform how in they are
Speaker 3: on Baker. But to me, that's not as interesting as
Speaker 3: this journey he's been on to sign a one year,
Speaker 3: three to four million dollar contract a year ago. At
Speaker 3: this time, nobody wanted him to this moment where I
Speaker 3: think he is smartly realizing his best chance for success
Speaker 3: is just to stay where he is in Tampa. It's
Speaker 3: not going to be the same offensive coordinator, so that's
Speaker 3: a little bit of a concern. But to stay with
Speaker 3: Mike Evan, stay with this organization, and I just can't
Speaker 3: remember a guy having this much of an up and
Speaker 3: down career this early into his career. And if you're
Speaker 3: Mark Sessler, a big Baker fan, I think this is
Speaker 3: best case scenario. I mean, he's flying, he's crushing the
Speaker 3: Sam Darnold debate right now, and this is his chance,
Speaker 3: I think, to be.
Speaker 1: Quarterback.
Speaker 3: That just it's been ups, there's been downs, but right
Speaker 3: now Baker's making a lot of money.
Speaker 4: In foolish comment, go ahead, Mark, I would say that,
Speaker 4: you know, quarterbacks are like cats on some level because
Speaker 4: they do have a chance to overcome what appears to
Speaker 4: be death. I mean, we are two seasons removed from
Speaker 4: Baker being axed by the woebegone Carolina Panthers that had
Speaker 4: no other answers at quarterback, and we're willing just to
Speaker 4: move on from him. And he goes to that Rams
Speaker 4: and has that you know three quarters of like you know,
Speaker 4: milk toast play and then that magical final fourth quarter
Speaker 4: where he slays the Raiders after being there for a
Speaker 4: couple of days. But then the Rams didn't want him
Speaker 4: ultimately either. It seemed like, oh, that would be a
Speaker 4: place where he'd stayed behind Matthew Stafford. So he goes
Speaker 4: to Tampa Bay pulls off arguably his finest season. I
Speaker 4: would say his rookie season had this sort of magic
Speaker 4: to it where you're like the ceiling, we don't even
Speaker 4: know what the ceiling is, but to go do what
Speaker 4: he did with the Bucks. I really think the best
Speaker 4: situation and the money for him is a surprise after
Speaker 4: where he was a year ago. Certainly is that he
Speaker 4: is in a place that wants him. And that wasn't
Speaker 4: true of Cleveland, that wasn't true of Carolina, that wasn't
Speaker 4: true of the Rams. Ultimately, and I think what he
Speaker 4: went through with the Browns was, you know, certainly humbling,
Speaker 4: certainly almost on the border of humiliating after the way
Speaker 4: he started. So to be here it just tells you
Speaker 4: the story of these quarterbacks is about as unpredictable as
Speaker 4: any position in sports.
Speaker 2: I think, even though it is short term and it
Speaker 2: is more or less Greg, you and I were talking
Speaker 2: about at the airport the Geno Smith contract, and Gino's
Speaker 2: probably in his second and final year with Seattle after
Speaker 2: signing that deal. I don't like it. I don't, and
Speaker 2: I think it's a bad deal for the Bucks. It's
Speaker 2: one of those deals that make sense after last year.
Speaker 2: But then it's like, you know, and you said it,
Speaker 2: like you want Baker on the deal when he's trying
Speaker 2: to prove it. Now you're paying him as a guy that's,
Speaker 2: you know, supposed to actually lead you potentially to the
Speaker 2: promised land. I know he's not paid at the top
Speaker 2: tier of quarterbacks, but that for me, that's way too
Speaker 2: much for Baker where I can and you bring up
Speaker 2: guys like Jake Briskett all the time, and players are
Speaker 2: those of that ilk in terms of what Baker actually
Speaker 2: gives you over the course of a seventeen game season.
Speaker 2: I think they'll regret this contract, but I also understand
Speaker 2: why they did it.
Speaker 1: It was a safe move.
Speaker 2: It will be seen mostly as a logical move, but
Speaker 2: I have a feeling this time next year it won't
Speaker 2: be remembered as a wise one.
Speaker 4: But Dan, what if he gives you what he gave
Speaker 4: them a year ago for an NFL quarterback? Is the
Speaker 4: price out of hand at that point?
Speaker 1: I guess.
Speaker 2: I think it's like one of those things good is
Speaker 2: the enemy of great. I think he is a solution
Speaker 2: where it's he is in a way kind of the
Speaker 2: progress stopper for them finding the next true quarterback after Brady.
Speaker 2: But also I say that knowing you know the Bucks's history.
Speaker 2: For the most part, they they've been combing the desert
Speaker 2: looking for a quarterback.
Speaker 1: Brady was this outlier.
Speaker 2: They won the super Bowl with Brad Johnson and that
Speaker 2: was a huge defense that really got that done. So
Speaker 2: he brings them a level. He was obviously a professional,
Speaker 2: competent quarterback this year, but it's just like he has
Speaker 2: to repeat that, and I he consistency has never been
Speaker 2: Baker's things. Staying healthy has never been Baker's thing. It's
Speaker 2: just a deal that I feel like is a major
Speaker 2: red flag for me. And where's gonna be a lot
Speaker 2: of deals over the next five days.
Speaker 1: That are you're gonna put your eyebrow up on. This
Speaker 1: is one of them for me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I do worry that his play will go down
Speaker 3: because he's been streaky.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 3: I actually thought he played his best ball at the
Speaker 3: end of the season. He was the playoffs and whatnot.
Speaker 3: Was kind of like, Okay, this is almost the Baker
Speaker 3: people were talking about how he was playing the whole year,
Speaker 3: where I thought he was a little uneven without Dave Canalis.
Speaker 1: That's a big concern.
Speaker 3: But if he does decline, Dan, He's not gonna be
Speaker 3: on the team next year. It's very, very similar to
Speaker 3: not just the Gino contract, but the Derek Carr contract
Speaker 3: that the Raiders gave Derek Carr before the twenty twenty
Speaker 3: two season. Both of those contracts with Gino, they gave
Speaker 3: like a round ten million. In this case to Baker.
Speaker 3: I think Gino's was like twelve to the second year
Speaker 3: Derek Carrs was similar, and the Raiders just decided to
Speaker 3: eat that money and they cut him because he didn't
Speaker 3: play well.
Speaker 1: Gino was like just over the line.
Speaker 3: I believe for Seattle to just be like, Okay, let's
Speaker 3: kick the let's keep Gino and who knows, he might
Speaker 3: even get a third year if he plays great. But
Speaker 3: they're in a spot where they can draft someone, and
Speaker 3: I don't think the Bucks would eliminate that. To answer
Speaker 3: your question, Mark though, where you said would it be
Speaker 3: worth it if he does play at that level, I
Speaker 3: think it would be if you actually do like the
Speaker 3: average quarterback salary. Now, Baker's still only sixteenth or seventeenth
Speaker 3: at the time of signing it, So this is your
Speaker 3: middle class. There has to be something between superstar and
Speaker 3: you know, like Jacoby Brissett, and it doesn't seem fair
Speaker 3: that it's like that huge of a drop. So I
Speaker 3: think it's fine if he plays at that level. I
Speaker 3: think it's worth it, and I think it shouldn't eliminate
Speaker 3: them from even thinking about drafting someone like in the
Speaker 3: second round.
Speaker 1: So when I woke up this morning, I was feeling
Speaker 1: pretty dangerous.
Speaker 2: In other big news, other big signings, Chris Jones and
Speaker 2: the Chiefs get it done Kansas City. He agreed to
Speaker 2: terms with the defensive tackle on a five year extension
Speaker 2: through twenty twenty eight. It's a deal that includes ninety
Speaker 2: five million guaranteed, So that is different. That is kind
Speaker 2: of I feel like where things are continuing to head
Speaker 2: in the NFL, where players, at least the superstars are
Speaker 2: getting massive guaranteed deals on shorter contracts, and for a
Speaker 2: player like Chris Jones mark who's thirty two years old,
Speaker 2: excuse me, he's thirty years old now, this contract maybe
Speaker 2: even sets him up for one more big deal after this,
Speaker 2: But I think everybody wins here.
Speaker 4: The last time we saw Chris Jones, he's pressuring brock
Speaker 4: Purty on that critical overtime third down that forces them
Speaker 4: the forty nine ers, into a field goal that sets
Speaker 4: up the Chiefs to go do what they did. He
Speaker 4: is a direct reason they got to the Super Bowl,
Speaker 4: won all the games they did, won the Super Bowl.
Speaker 4: He is arguably the best defensive tackle in the league
Speaker 4: right now. And I think if you're Kansas City, you're
Speaker 4: in one of the rare positions in sports where it's
Speaker 4: like you look out over the length of this contract
Speaker 4: and say, it is not ridiculous to suggest that we
Speaker 4: win four Super Bowls. Three super Bowls would even be
Speaker 4: like to me, just like the over runners sitting there
Speaker 4: at three with all the pieces they have, you don't
Speaker 4: just let Chris Jones walk away. I think was a trick.
Speaker 4: They walked into this offseason with a tricky situation on defense, Like.
Speaker 1: Wait three more during Chris Jones' contract, I.
Speaker 4: Am saying they could win three of the next four
Speaker 4: Super Bowls, And I'd have no problem with saying that
Speaker 4: that is not an outrageous claim. It's like back during
Speaker 4: the Yankees heyday saying they win three of four World Series,
Speaker 4: like they're that kind of football team with what they
Speaker 4: have right now, and it's like, you let guys like
Speaker 4: this go. We've seen three different types of chiefs offenses
Speaker 4: and defenses win Super Bowls in the past half decade,
Speaker 4: and like, so at, keep adding to what you have,
Speaker 4: keep your star players around. Jones wanted to be there.
Speaker 4: He said that emphatically during their parade. And he's sticking around,
Speaker 4: and it's like, it's a lot of my but it
Speaker 4: won't look that. None of these contracts look bad, you know,
Speaker 4: seven hundred days from now, they're fine and he's worth it.
Speaker 1: This one worries me less.
Speaker 3: Greg, it worries me less, But the history of the
Speaker 3: NFL would say that giving a thirty year old defensive
Speaker 3: tackle quarterback money, though I guess it's like Baker quarterback money,
Speaker 3: you know, has some sort of risk in it.
Speaker 1: He hasn't shown any decline to play. I love it.
Speaker 1: It is a reminder, you know, when people are saying.
Speaker 3: Oh, the caps, see how real the cap is, like
Speaker 3: you have to make moves, It's like, no, he's yes.
Speaker 1: I am.
Speaker 3: My main thing is like teams ultimately keep the players
Speaker 3: they want to if they really want. And I'm really
Speaker 3: glad that this is a marriage that continues because I
Speaker 3: started thinking about during that playoff run and he had
Speaker 3: the pressure that forced Josh Allen to miss that throw
Speaker 3: that would have maybe won the game for them in
Speaker 3: the division around the Bills, and then he had another
Speaker 3: great Super Bowl. And if you just go through game
Speaker 3: by game, he's the guy making the plays game after
Speaker 3: game and Dante high Tower would have, you know, a
Speaker 3: case for this, But like, I don't think any defensive
Speaker 3: player in the last twenty years has made more championship
Speaker 3: and playoff winning plays than Chris Jones. So if you
Speaker 3: can't reward him, like, who are you going to reward it?
Speaker 3: And they got to keep they got to keep the guy.
Speaker 2: I think you made kind of the point I was
Speaker 2: going to make that he's you know, he's under that category.
Speaker 2: Aaron Donalds is obviously seen as probably the best defensive player,
Speaker 2: certainly the best defensive lignement of his generation. But Jones
Speaker 2: now has certainly a case to be in that group.
Speaker 2: And those are the guys that you maybe take the
Speaker 2: chance on the age thirty contract with. And it does
Speaker 2: not to circle back to Baker, but it also does
Speaker 2: show you how strange it is that so Chris Jones
Speaker 2: and Baker got about the same money. I mean, the
Speaker 2: difference in player and in the impact those players have,
Speaker 2: it's a no brainer.
Speaker 3: And well, the guaranteed money is quite different now it
Speaker 3: says practically guaranteed. And this is one deal where the
Speaker 3: details haven't come out, which is when they don't come
Speaker 3: out totally, it usually means it's not great for the players.
Speaker 3: I want to see what practically guarantee mean this This
Speaker 3: stuff annoys me. But either way, ninety five million guaranteed
Speaker 3: is quite a lot more than like forty for Baker,
Speaker 3: and so that that's a difference in terms.
Speaker 4: Of it, and there is a risk and like he
Speaker 4: is thirty and also to the thirty today for athletes
Speaker 4: meets something different than it did, you know, in nineteen
Speaker 4: ninety five. But also like the other parallel universe we're
Speaker 4: talking about, is that the Raiders sign them for this
Speaker 4: and pull them away from the Chiefs and make them
Speaker 4: the centerpiece of their forgettable defense probably for the next
Speaker 4: four or five years. Like I like him on the Chiefs.
Speaker 4: I like him part of this team, like keep it going,
Speaker 4: and they're a team that can take risks, has taken
Speaker 4: risks all along, and like it seems to work out
Speaker 4: for him time and again.
Speaker 3: And to be fair, defensive tackles have has started to
Speaker 3: age better. Like Fletcher Cox, who were going to get
Speaker 3: to in a minute, like he's still playing. He was
Speaker 3: still playing at a high level at thirty five. A
Speaker 3: lot of these guys do play very well thirty two
Speaker 3: to thirty three. I mean, it's a question with Aaron Donald,
Speaker 3: which there's some whispers out there. We haven't put it
Speaker 3: in a news rundown, but there's some whispers of like
Speaker 3: what's going on with Aaron Donald? He might want more money,
Speaker 3: he might be retiring.
Speaker 1: How of those this is?
Speaker 2: If this is Chris Jones at age thirty three, I
Speaker 2: think it's a conversation.
Speaker 1: This, I mean just seems like a no brainer to me.
Speaker 2: And then if he continues to play at this level
Speaker 2: a couple of years from now, yes, then they really
Speaker 2: have to think whether they want to continue that everybody wins,
Speaker 2: and and remember they already tagged Lagarius Snead and he's
Speaker 2: open to finding a trade partner. So I think their
Speaker 2: game plan continues to come into focus. Is now you
Speaker 2: got Chris Jones under contract. He's the Patrick Mahomes of
Speaker 2: your defense. You're gonna tag and try to get assets
Speaker 2: for the cornerback, and now they're gonna build around Mahomes.
Speaker 1: It's scary.
Speaker 2: It's scary because the Chiefs are one really good offseason
Speaker 2: away from really distancing themselves from the pack. And so
Speaker 2: far so good, at least if you're a Chiefs fan.
Speaker 2: So far not so good for mac Jones in the NFL,
Speaker 2: at least after his rookie year he was a pro bowler.
Speaker 2: It looked like the Patriots had found an immediate successor
Speaker 2: to Tom Brady. But then it all fell apart over
Speaker 2: the ensuing years for Jones, and on Sunday.
Speaker 1: The Patriots moved on.
Speaker 2: It was reported first by Adam Schefter that the Jaguars
Speaker 2: have agreed to acquire mac Jones from the Patriots in
Speaker 2: exchange for a late draft pick.
Speaker 1: I believe it turned out to.
Speaker 2: Be what a sixth and a seventh sixth round pick
Speaker 2: for mac Jones, who went fifteenth overall a couple of
Speaker 2: years back. The twenty twenty one draft class. No great shakes.
Speaker 2: Even Trevor Lawrence, who now Mac Jones will back up,
Speaker 2: hasn't quite lived up to the hype, but he's certainly
Speaker 2: been better than all the other players taken in the
Speaker 2: first round. Greg, I know, as a Patriots fan, whatever
Speaker 2: you are, you were ready to move on from mac Jones.
Speaker 2: But it is crazy to think from where we were
Speaker 2: when they got to the playoffs in that first year
Speaker 2: and even made some throws in that lost to the Bills.
Speaker 2: Just a really good first year to a couple of
Speaker 2: years later being shipped out of town for a six
Speaker 2: That's about as sudden a turn as you get.
Speaker 1: Right, I was.
Speaker 3: Saying, Baker has had the most up and down career possible.
Speaker 3: I don't know if mac Jones is ever going to
Speaker 3: get the ups again, but man, his has been like
Speaker 3: a rollercoaster that he The tape he put out there
Speaker 3: his rookie year was real like when when you see
Speaker 3: someone play at that level, and I thought he did
Speaker 3: a lot of things, well, you tend to think that
Speaker 3: they can have a career, even if it's a career
Speaker 3: as like a bridge quarterback.
Speaker 1: Type of guy, like a middling guy.
Speaker 3: But I can't remember a quarterback looking more that had
Speaker 3: shown a high level before looking as obviously broken as
Speaker 3: mac Jones did last year. So this deal actually seems
Speaker 3: curious to me. For the Jaguars. I mean, they get
Speaker 3: him for one year, like two and a half million.
Speaker 3: It's fine, it's a one year deal essentially to be
Speaker 3: your backup quarterback, but they're not going to pick up
Speaker 3: his fifth year option and then he's just a free
Speaker 3: agent again. It I guess it's it's fine, it's just
Speaker 3: a backup quarterback. But I'm almost surprised that they did it,
Speaker 3: and it hurt. It hurt my feelings. When Walker into
Speaker 3: the bathroom this morning as I was shaving on the
Speaker 3: way getting ready to come out, and he goes breaking
Speaker 3: news the Patriots have traded Mac Jones. He's gotten really
Speaker 3: into the free agency period. He's typing it up on
Speaker 3: his typewriter as he must earn your love.
Speaker 1: Yes, he buss.
Speaker 4: I did notice like a literally a full gigantic page
Speaker 4: of typewritten notes coming from Walker's typewriter, which is like,
Speaker 4: this is an old school journal operating at this point.
Speaker 4: I'm I'm proud of your son.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it really makes me.
Speaker 3: But he's really gotten into this, but it's we're a
Speaker 3: long way from doing the gritty. He used to think
Speaker 3: Mac Jones was like the best player ever. When Mac
Speaker 3: Jones was doing the gritty at the Pro Bowl. Now
Speaker 3: he thinks, I.
Speaker 4: Mean, I'm also I'm almost willing to give Mac Jones
Speaker 4: like which is a rare thing, like two mulligans, because
Speaker 4: I think two years ago they could have mismanaged him
Speaker 4: in their entire offense with more of a botched you know, mindset.
Speaker 4: Last year was a disaster in New England. It's like
Speaker 4: when Josh McDaniel's who I think, you know, Peter Principle
Speaker 4: can be an offensive coordinator, like was his tutor. Like
Speaker 4: he showed the promise of an organized you know, game
Speaker 4: plan and organized process each week. And it's like, you know,
Speaker 4: for all that Bill Belichick has done, like the way
Speaker 4: that his apathy towards Mac Jones verbally down the stretch too,
Speaker 4: it's like disliked him. They just did not like each other.
Speaker 4: And he was from Alabama of all things. So it's
Speaker 4: like he's getting he you know, got the seal of
Speaker 4: approval from Nick Stavens. So I would just say that,
Speaker 4: like Mac Jones of anyone, I don't we're not going
Speaker 4: He's going to be a backup, but he deserves a
Speaker 4: new start. But I said, some of these backups sometimes
Speaker 4: it's like he might have to come in and play
Speaker 4: three critical games and put a new stamp on what
Speaker 4: we think about him.
Speaker 2: I think he was exactly the type of he's a
Speaker 2: tear below Baker to me, but exactly the type of
Speaker 2: quarterback of everything around him. As Greg strips off, Oh
Speaker 2: my god, we just saw Craig's bare chest.
Speaker 4: You're gonna see that in his hotel room. Anything could happen.
Speaker 1: Anything goes in a hotel room on a business trip.
Speaker 2: And Greg just showed you it's hot.
Speaker 4: There's no air in these rooms. We all have, like Greg,
Speaker 4: like cherry tomatoes.
Speaker 1: I should turn down or something like that.
Speaker 3: But yeah, it's hot, and I'm just trying to raise
Speaker 3: our YouTube subscribers.
Speaker 1: He'll tell you. Some of the men you know now
Speaker 1: can just my.
Speaker 2: Point being that if everything is perfectly set up around
Speaker 2: a quarterback like Mac Jones, you could be all right.
Speaker 2: Maybe you'll win ten games if things break.
Speaker 1: The right way. But I think he was exposed. He
Speaker 1: got your right mark.
Speaker 2: The whole de facto offensive coordinator Patricia thing was terrible,
Speaker 2: kind of in a way ruin Belichick's Patriots career as well,
Speaker 2: or at least how it ended. But also I think
Speaker 2: you saw with Jones's temperament, which also war on teammates
Speaker 2: and coaches. He's not a guy that actually handled adversity well,
Speaker 2: and I think that's something that will continue to follow him.
Speaker 2: And I don't have high hopes for mac Jones moving forward.
Speaker 2: And you know, he's he's better than geez like for instance,
Speaker 2: every backup the Jets ran out.
Speaker 3: There and the Jaguars backup last year. I guess I
Speaker 3: don't know like he's either better or not. If he's
Speaker 3: like he was last year, he's he's worse than every
Speaker 3: quarterback in the league, at least Doug Peterson. It's a
Speaker 3: little landing spot, you know, for a quarterback.
Speaker 2: All right, So Mac Jones gone, not gone, Hunter Henry.
Speaker 2: He re signs with the Patriots three years, twenty seven million,
Speaker 2: so that tight end room keeps Henry. Remember he was
Speaker 2: one of the big signings by the Pats a couple
Speaker 2: of years back in free agency. Although I read that
Speaker 2: some of his pop the hood route numbers were among
Speaker 2: the worst than the league in terms of explosiveness for
Speaker 2: its tight end, but that seems to be in line
Speaker 2: with what the Patriots are really aiming for with their offense.
Speaker 1: Post Tom Brady.
Speaker 2: And finally they also added Chakuma Oka four Yeah, I
Speaker 2: got that, okor four you got it core for anyway,
Speaker 2: former third round pick, he's spent his first six years
Speaker 2: with the Steelers.
Speaker 1: He gives them another option on their offensive line.
Speaker 2: They're gonna lose some of their line this offseason, it
Speaker 2: looks like in free agency, so Choky comes in.
Speaker 3: They they're as thin on in terms of their skill
Speaker 3: position talent as any team in the league. They are
Speaker 3: the thinnest, say, and the slowest, and Hunter Henry does
Speaker 3: not help there, but he is solid and it's just
Speaker 3: like one spot you don't have to worry about as much.
Speaker 3: And there's literally no tight ends now on in my
Speaker 3: top fifty. There's only one in the top one on
Speaker 3: one that's no offense. It's a weirdly scarce position. In
Speaker 3: his not so well that group he did not and
Speaker 3: they there's none in the draft either that are expected
Speaker 3: to go in the first two rounds at Leastah, if
Speaker 3: you need o, there's ideas other than breakbon If you needed.
Speaker 2: A tight end, last year was the year to get
Speaker 2: one in the draft. All right, let's stop down right
Speaker 2: here real quick, and then we'll keep pouring through all
Speaker 2: this news. Okay, Jerry Judy, we know that happened when
Speaker 2: we were in London in October when Steve Smith went
Speaker 2: nuclear with Mike Garifolo on NFL Network about Judy. However,
Speaker 2: Judy does have a big time draft pedigree.
Speaker 1: What did what did a Mena call it on the
Speaker 1: show last week?
Speaker 2: Pretty pick privilege, pretty pick privilege. He was selected with
Speaker 2: the fifteenth overall pick in the twenty twenty NFL Draft.
Speaker 2: Remember again, God, we say free agency isn't perfect. How
Speaker 2: about the draft? Or was Jerry Judy and Henry Ruggs
Speaker 2: as two painted as two can't miss a wide receiver
Speaker 2: prospects and Ruggs obviously ruined his career in his life
Speaker 2: in a different way, but hadn't done much before that happened.
Speaker 2: And Judy just has not been able to get it
Speaker 2: going in Denver, so Mark he now goes to the
Speaker 2: Browns and the terms. The Browns send back a twenty
Speaker 2: four to fifth and sixth round draft pick, so they
Speaker 2: didn't give up a lot. They're taking on a player
Speaker 2: that's ostensibly very talented.
Speaker 1: It just has not translated at this level for the
Speaker 1: most part.
Speaker 4: Look at how they're building their wide out room over
Speaker 4: the past couple of seasons because they they leased the
Speaker 4: Cowboys for Amari Cooper. I mean, the Cowboys were in
Speaker 4: a tough spot and gave Amari Cooper to the Browns
Speaker 4: for very little. They took a flyer in Elijah Moore,
Speaker 4: and I wouldn't say that there's evidence that that's worked out.
Speaker 4: This just seems to me he's been I mean like
Speaker 4: to me, Elijah Moore as a piece, But I don't
Speaker 4: know what they were expecting. Like Jerry Judy is an experiment.
Speaker 4: I could argue that he like didn't have the luxury
Speaker 4: of solid quarterback play in Denver during his time there,
Speaker 4: but he was, you know, plagued with drops. I think
Speaker 4: there were flashes where you'd see, wait a minute, this guy,
Speaker 4: if he can string together consistency, there's a lot to
Speaker 4: like about him. Cleveland right now has a lot of
Speaker 4: whiteouts because they also have you know, they drafted David Bell.
Speaker 4: I think Cedric Tillman is someone who's interesting. They got
Speaker 4: David Nijoku. They lost Bill Callahan. I think that's a
Speaker 4: big loss for the Cleveland Browns. Nick Chubb's coming off
Speaker 4: of injury, and we're another offseason removed, still asking the
Speaker 4: same question if the quarterback they traded for can actually
Speaker 4: play quarterback at the level they thought they were gonna get.
Speaker 1: It's a weird mix, like the weird room.
Speaker 3: It's a weird room, and these are people, and I
Speaker 3: think that's criticism sometimes at least in the NBA, but
Speaker 3: in the NFL too of like the analytics crowd, like
Speaker 3: they're maybe not taken into account chemistry, and it is
Speaker 3: just like kind of a a weird group. Cooper, Judy
Speaker 3: Watson certainly, like we'll see Judy's been reasonably productive for
Speaker 3: someone who gets, you know, grief for being so disappointed.
Speaker 3: He has three thousand yards in his career when he's
Speaker 3: been healthy, and three of his four seasons has been healthy,
Speaker 3: he's had eight fifty six, six nine seventy two and
Speaker 3: seven fifty eight. So it's like he's not great, but
Speaker 3: it's not it's not bad, but it's weird because it's
Speaker 3: a one year, twelve million dollar contract that he's on
Speaker 3: and then after that he's a free agent and they'll
Speaker 3: just have to decide what they want to do. So
Speaker 3: it's not that cheap, but it's also cheaper than almost
Speaker 3: anyone else that you could possibly think of getting with
Speaker 3: that sort of production at this time of year. So
Speaker 3: Andrew Berry does have a way of like winning the trades.
Speaker 3: And I would say it does make sense to me
Speaker 3: for what they paid.
Speaker 2: I mean would Yeah, I was gonna say, I I
Speaker 2: would like Jerry Judy at that cost for my team
Speaker 2: as a team that's looking to fill out a wide
Speaker 2: receiver room. So I think the trade is a good
Speaker 2: one for the Browns on the surface right now, because
Speaker 2: who knows, maybe the light does click and maybe Deshaun
Speaker 2: eventually returns amongst the living as a franch quarterback. But
Speaker 2: Amari's turning thirty this year, and yeah, now you got
Speaker 2: kind of two former high draft picks and more and
Speaker 2: Judy that you're hoping to kind of salvage and turn
Speaker 2: them into something bigger. It does put a lot of
Speaker 2: pressure on in Djoku and the running game and Chubb
Speaker 2: coming off a major injury in the offensive line, which
Speaker 2: lost kind of there the behind the scenes leader. So
Speaker 2: many range of outcomes mark for the Browns on that
Speaker 2: side of the ball this year.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I just think it shows how they value the
Speaker 4: wide op position because it's like, I guess you could
Speaker 4: go give Calvin Ridley a ton of money and wonder
Speaker 4: if he's going to be the guy you hope he
Speaker 4: is too, And it's like they don't have a ton
Speaker 4: of caprom That wasn't the route they were going to go.
Speaker 4: And they knew that the Broncos were trying to trade
Speaker 4: Judy since the middle of the eighteenth century, so they
Speaker 4: you know, they probably got a better cost than you think.
Speaker 3: Right, our guy Kevin Saunders, by the way, like, oh yeah,
Speaker 3: keeps looking at L after L. I meant there was
Speaker 3: a point where you could have gotten a better return
Speaker 3: for Jerry Judy, but they never they kept never making
Speaker 3: those trades. And now they're just kind of taking whatever
Speaker 3: they could get for him. And they and they got
Speaker 3: a year of him starting and he wasn't terrible, like
Speaker 3: they did get that out of him. But Kevin Saunders,
Speaker 3: I do wonder if Kevin Sondra you never wish referring
Speaker 3: to the general manager of the Broncos. Yes, of course
Speaker 3: his his alternate name. There is a there is an
Speaker 3: outcome where he's no longer with the team after the draft,
Speaker 3: and Sean Payton is the one that's kind of calling
Speaker 3: the shots here.
Speaker 1: But that is total guesswork. I have not heard anything
Speaker 1: like that.
Speaker 2: And for those who may be curious, if he no longer,
Speaker 2: if he if his employment is terminated, he gets his
Speaker 2: name back. That's that's that's fair. That's the right move,
Speaker 2: that's the right play, and and that and that's where
Speaker 2: we'll go.
Speaker 3: On that, all right. In other news, right, that seems fair.
Speaker 3: It doesn't think you made it. It was a unilateral
Speaker 3: decision by you, but I think it was fair.
Speaker 1: There was a report.
Speaker 2: Out there in terms of Saunders taking the yel that
Speaker 2: there was a third and a fifth offered for Judy
Speaker 2: as recently as the fall, and they're like, now we're
Speaker 2: holding out, and now they give up two day three picks.
Speaker 2: So let's see if the Browns could turn that into
Speaker 2: chicken salad. All right, and but we shouldn't Steve Smith.
Speaker 2: That was that was fun and we enjoyed it, and
Speaker 2: the headlines were great and everything. But I also trust
Speaker 2: Steve Smith's judgment on players as well, and.
Speaker 3: He kind of was proven right by the The GMS
Speaker 3: apparently listened to him, except Andrew Berry, but even he
Speaker 3: didn't have to give up much.
Speaker 2: All Right, here's a here's a saucy report. That's that's
Speaker 2: been floated out there via Albert Breer, of course, of
Speaker 2: SI dot com.
Speaker 1: The Chargers have had exploratory talks. I love that.
Speaker 2: Whenever you hear exploratory talks, I feel like exploratory talks.
Speaker 2: I feel like it ends up happening. Oh yeah, it's
Speaker 2: it's it's happening. Not always, but many times it turns
Speaker 2: into something. So anyway, explorer tory explore uh tour five
Speaker 2: syllable words for the number of letters. You might not
Speaker 2: find too many words that bang out of five sill
Speaker 2: in that amount of letters.
Speaker 1: What about ten letters anywhere?
Speaker 4: Skilled broadcastered in.
Speaker 3: Yeah, come back to us, exploratory. Try to be a
Speaker 3: little more like sixty percent. G here we got five letters,
Speaker 3: one syllable.
Speaker 1: We're efficient.
Speaker 2: Exploratory talks about trading receivers Mike Williams and Keenan Allen.
Speaker 2: Breer adds that Allen is less likely to be dealt,
Speaker 2: but they are answering the phone on both of those,
Speaker 2: and that comes on the heels of continuous speculation on
Speaker 2: the other side of the ball around both Joey Bosa
Speaker 2: and Khalil Mack, they're two premier pass rushers. So the
Speaker 2: Chargers in the Harbor era, we cannot Greggie close the
Speaker 2: door or turn our back to the idea that Harbaugh's
Speaker 2: just nuts enough to look at this core, which everyone
Speaker 2: else sees is untapped and say that ain't my core.
Speaker 2: I'm going to build this team in my vision, and
Speaker 2: that means turning all these marquee names into draft picks
Speaker 2: and whatnot and starting fresh with the quarterback. Most likely
Speaker 2: there's logic to that too. I think it makes sense.
Speaker 3: I actually think if in a weird world where the
Speaker 3: Chargers won three more games but these players were all
Speaker 3: about the same, I think they might be gone anyways.
Speaker 3: Like if you look at them one by one, Joey
Speaker 3: Boson never plays, I think they kind of have to
Speaker 3: cut or trade Joey Bosa then get something for Like
Speaker 3: he never plays, and he's one of the highest paid
Speaker 3: players in the league. He literally has played more than
Speaker 3: like five hundred snaps like a couple of times in
Speaker 3: his career.
Speaker 1: He just doesn't play.
Speaker 3: Khalio Mack good season, but getting paid a lot. I
Speaker 3: would guess Mike Williams and Joey boss are no longer
Speaker 3: on the team. I would guess Keenan Allen will be
Speaker 3: and then Mac. I don't know, but I don't really
Speaker 3: know any of them. I'm just guessing, but those are
Speaker 3: my guesses.
Speaker 2: I'm reading Tea leaves here, Mark, and I think we're
Speaker 2: seeing enough out there now that Harbo is really going
Speaker 2: to shake up the league and a lot of these
Speaker 2: guys are going to be playing elsewhere in September, and
Speaker 2: I'm here for it. That sounds fun because a lot
Speaker 2: of these guys also play bizis that teams are scouring
Speaker 2: looking for help and they and they will flood the
Speaker 2: market as you know, potential big time contributors.
Speaker 4: Right because the Chargers experience with Bosa is you know
Speaker 4: case example A. But other teams are going to look
Speaker 4: at Bosa in a completely different way and say that's
Speaker 4: exactly the piece we need to, you know, get two
Speaker 4: edge rushers. But the one thing I'd say about this,
Speaker 4: because I agree with you, I think Harbaugh is going
Speaker 4: to come in do things differently. Maybe they play with
Speaker 4: no wide receivers, maybe they you know, have eight offensive
Speaker 4: linemen and run the ball four hundred and sixty five
Speaker 4: times a month. But the only problem is if you
Speaker 4: do get to the point where you move Khalil Mack,
Speaker 4: you move Joey Bosa because they need to make moves
Speaker 4: no matter what, because their caps so exploratory, will turn
Speaker 4: into something. But if Mike Williams is gone, Keenan Allen
Speaker 4: is gone, it's like okay, but you still need to
Speaker 4: fill those key core positions, especially at edge rusher with
Speaker 4: someone else. And it's like the fallout of finding like
Speaker 4: a C minus version of those four players or some
Speaker 4: amount of them could be costly. And it's like, I
Speaker 4: think Harbaugh has to set the table a little bit
Speaker 4: and say, if we're going to have a totally new team,
Speaker 4: because when you went to the Niners started like six
Speaker 4: and zero and just rolled into the playoffs.
Speaker 1: He had great players. He inherited a lot of great
Speaker 1: he really did.
Speaker 4: And here he inherited great players, but a cap hell
Speaker 4: and like, some changes have to be made, and I
Speaker 4: would not be surprised that Bosa somewhere else.
Speaker 2: So Herbert's twenty six years old, actually today's birthday. Happy
Speaker 2: birthday Justin Herbert, who turned twenty six today. I hope
Speaker 2: he's doing something marvelous. Friend of the show, best friend
Speaker 2: of the show. It totally makes sense to me because
Speaker 2: you have a situation when you look at that team.
Speaker 2: You have a head coach who has complete job security,
Speaker 2: quarterback who is the unquestioned franchise star, and he is
Speaker 2: under contract.
Speaker 1: Harbaugh is not in a rush to make this the year.
Speaker 2: So if if he plays it with some level of patience,
Speaker 2: he could really set them up with some trades and
Speaker 2: moves where even if they take a step back this year,
Speaker 2: and I don't even know if they will, because I
Speaker 2: never I never underestimate the combination of high level quarterback
Speaker 2: play and a good coach. You know, like they could
Speaker 2: surprise people this year, even by getting rid of a
Speaker 2: bunch of these guys, but they could set up.
Speaker 1: And become a big time team in a couple of years.
Speaker 2: So if I'm the if I'm a Chargers fan, I
Speaker 2: have trepidation about this because I might own some of
Speaker 2: these jerseys, and I might be a you know, a
Speaker 2: fan of a lot of these players, and I might
Speaker 2: think to myself, like, we want to keep this core
Speaker 2: together for one big run with a real head coach,
Speaker 2: But maybe give Jim the benefit of the doubt.
Speaker 1: I would. I would let's take a break.
Speaker 2: And then we'll hit the rest of the News, Welcome back,
Speaker 2: Let's get back into it.
Speaker 1: Yes, we are here in Texas. By the way.
Speaker 2: For the iHeart Radio Awards, we were nominated for Best
Speaker 2: Sports Podcast. A lot of people say we're an underdog.
Speaker 2: I say, Mark, uh, you know right now the hotel
Speaker 2: we're staying at the pool deck is closed for renovations
Speaker 2: ahead of spring break, which is I mean, what about
Speaker 2: us we're here?
Speaker 4: Sure?
Speaker 1: What about the rowdy teens that you're learning the deck for.
Speaker 1: I had a whole plan.
Speaker 2: I was gonna go out on the on the deck
Speaker 2: like Joe Namath in Miami in nineteen sixty nine, and
Speaker 2: I was gonna get a young Brent Musburger at my
Speaker 2: feet while I held a cocktail, and I said, we're
Speaker 2: gonna We're gonna win a wood at the Ihearts. That
Speaker 2: guarantee it. But now that now the pool's closed, so
Speaker 2: I can't do it. So we'll just have to settle
Speaker 2: for winning the thing.
Speaker 4: Well, you've said it to our audience, and I had
Speaker 4: told you that I've felt a different energy. I think
Speaker 4: when this was first announced and you realize you're going
Speaker 4: against like the Kelsey's, it's like, I don't it just
Speaker 4: seemed like not only David versus Goliath, but like baby
Speaker 4: David versus like full grown Goliath, like literally a baby
Speaker 4: that's immobile. Like that's the position we seem to be in.
Speaker 4: But now I feel like we're growing powerful, more strong,
Speaker 4: And I have a conspiracy theory that you know, the
Speaker 4: Shadowys who have done us right and wrong through the years.
Speaker 4: I just feel that maybe behind the scenes, they sent
Speaker 4: us here because they know that there's a pot of
Speaker 4: gold at the end of the rainbow. Now, no matter what,
Speaker 4: there's a there's a nice hotel to stay in, in a
Speaker 4: city to explore.
Speaker 1: So if you want to talk, you talk Yo a
Speaker 1: great city.
Speaker 2: By the way, I like the idea of the Shadowyze
Speaker 2: being an award show too, and then we just nominate
Speaker 2: different middle managers in.
Speaker 6: A series of levels of awards and best changing of
Speaker 6: the subject when the ATN crew brings up something you
Speaker 6: don't want to do, like different words like that.
Speaker 1: All right, Greg, did you have anything else to add there?
Speaker 3: Really I don't share your guys's confidence, but uh, you know,
Speaker 3: I don't think I don't think we have like particularly
Speaker 3: less than a one in five chance. But you know,
Speaker 3: there's five strong podcasts. I definitely don't think the Shadowy
Speaker 3: League figures know anything or there's a conspiracy, but there's
Speaker 3: I would on candidate, So I'm not giving us. I
Speaker 3: guess I'm using the boring math analysis here is like
Speaker 3: I wouldn't see why we had a better chance than
Speaker 3: Club Shasha or Dan Levittard or I.
Speaker 4: Would imagine that the Kelseys have probably never heard of
Speaker 4: our show, have never listened to it, Like if there
Speaker 4: this also award. They're doing so well that this award
Speaker 4: process may not be on the radar on any level,
Speaker 4: But I cannot wait to hear the commentary when we
Speaker 4: do upset them and just sort of their feedback to that.
Speaker 3: Well, it's on TD, it's got to be on TD's radar,
Speaker 3: our old producer, who's their producer, one of their producers,
Speaker 3: So we're going after you TD.
Speaker 1: I would say though, like if.
Speaker 2: Like Meredith Baton or Matt Schneider, like if we who
Speaker 2: are here management with NFL, Like if we do win
Speaker 2: and then it turns out that your right mark, that
Speaker 2: this was all had been pre arranged, I would say
Speaker 2: they would be getting a Shadowy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, you know that.
Speaker 2: Would be to me that would be at least or
Speaker 2: at the very least something they deserve.
Speaker 4: I want to I want a drunken Travis kelcey oversees
Speaker 4: like bitching to you know, Taylor Swift about losing like
Speaker 4: this award to three podcast bozos, and just I want
Speaker 4: to be a fly on the.
Speaker 2: Ball for then I want Taylor Swift to write a
Speaker 2: song just burying us for winning the iHeart Award. All right,
Speaker 2: let's get back to it. The Eagles, the Eagles, Man,
Speaker 2: the Eagles are in transition. And uh, you know this
Speaker 2: happens for every team, high profile team that's you know,
Speaker 2: made the Super Bowl, didn't quite get there coming off
Speaker 2: a very disappointing year obviously, and now we know they lost.
Speaker 2: Speaking to Kelsey's Jason kelce retired last week. Now Fletcher
Speaker 2: Cox h stand out on the other side of the ball,
Speaker 2: he also retires, So Cox.
Speaker 1: I mean for a team that.
Speaker 2: And it's kind of surprising because Fletcher Cox and you know,
Speaker 2: Jason Kelsey are two like highly respected, decorated leaders that
Speaker 2: are known as guys that can command a locker room.
Speaker 2: That all went down with them in the locker room.
Speaker 2: So now you're taking them out of the locker room.
Speaker 2: The Eagles are a wild scene right now, and they're
Speaker 2: like the Browns offense. The range of outcomes is all
Speaker 2: over the place in Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: But they're also doing business.
Speaker 2: Brandon Graham another important part of the defensive line. He
Speaker 2: has re signed, but also a report out there that
Speaker 2: Josh Sweat and Hassan Reddick are available in a trade.
Speaker 2: So a lot of info just downloaded there to the listeners, GREGI,
Speaker 2: where do you want to go?
Speaker 1: Start with the Fletcher Cox?
Speaker 3: Who Look, if you had said five years ago that
Speaker 3: like Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelsey retire the same week,
Speaker 3: the Fletcher Cox news would have been seen as like, oh,
Speaker 3: that's the bigger news. Like he's made four All Pro teams,
Speaker 3: three as a second team guy, like one of the
Speaker 3: defining defensive tackles of his air. Wouldn't surprise me if
Speaker 3: he's you know, he was on the two thoutdid you
Speaker 3: know considered for like an all decade type of team.
Speaker 3: That's the quality of player that he is now. He's not,
Speaker 3: as you know, active in the media and everything is
Speaker 3: Jason Kelsey, and Kelsey's career finished so strong where he
Speaker 3: was finishing on top, Cox was you know, a guy
Speaker 3: who signed a contract year after year and you weren't
Speaker 3: sure if he was going to return, And that's what
Speaker 3: Brandon Graham is now. But the fact that they brought
Speaker 3: back Brandon Graham and then they put it out there
Speaker 3: that they're not really into their current pat edge rushers.
Speaker 3: They're putting a little blame on Josh Sweat and there
Speaker 3: was a report and Hassan Reddick that they just weren't
Speaker 3: happy with essentially those two players.
Speaker 1: It just supports my.
Speaker 3: Belief that the Eagles are going to do a lot
Speaker 3: over the next week. Like I don't know what it's
Speaker 3: gonna be, but they're gonna be super active and they're
Speaker 3: gonna do a lot.
Speaker 4: They to me, they shift into like high intrigue no matter.
Speaker 4: I mean, you're right the range of outcomes and what
Speaker 4: they're gonna look like, but they're gonna look so different.
Speaker 4: I think you were looking at a head coach that
Speaker 4: has been rendered far less powerful than where he was
Speaker 4: a year ago. And if you're Vic Fangio, I can understand,
Speaker 4: like looking at what's the Dolphins I had to do?
Speaker 4: Found you might have you know, if he's looking at
Speaker 4: their cap and like you know, we're gonna have to
Speaker 4: make some changes. And he had some links to the
Speaker 4: Eagles to begin with, so you move on from that.
Speaker 4: But you come over to Philadelphia and it's like you're
Speaker 4: looking at your defensive scheme is a bit different, but
Speaker 4: like key components of this side of the ball could
Speaker 4: all be gone, big chunks of it. So it's like
Speaker 4: that's challenging. I just think the Eagles to me are
Speaker 4: a very weird, weird operation at the moment.
Speaker 2: All right, in Oh do any other Eagles takes. Okay,
Speaker 2: let's move on because we got a lot to get
Speaker 2: to the Bears doing business.
Speaker 1: They sign a four year deal.
Speaker 2: This went down earlier in the weekend, a four year
Speaker 2: contract with cornerback Jalen Johnson, seventy six million, fifty four
Speaker 2: million in guaranteed money, almost forty four due at signing.
Speaker 2: So they had put the franchise tag on Johnson mark
Speaker 2: and now they get a deal done. So you know,
Speaker 2: as the team is in transition, I'm looking more and
Speaker 2: more certain that it is Caleb Williams that's the new
Speaker 2: face of the franchise.
Speaker 1: And I saw some by the way, not.
Speaker 2: To get sidetracked, because we will talk Jalen Johnson, but
Speaker 2: I saw I don't know.
Speaker 1: I think it was Florio wrote a piece about like.
Speaker 2: Oh, what happened with Mac Jones is not a good
Speaker 2: sign for what the Bears will get for Justin Fields.
Speaker 2: And I'm not saying just that Justin Fields is going
Speaker 2: to command like a first round pick or whatever. But
Speaker 2: there's a big difference between what Justin Fields has put
Speaker 2: on tape and his situation and what we've seen from
Speaker 2: him both as a player and as a man and
Speaker 2: as a teammate, and what Mac Jones showed the last
Speaker 2: two years. So let's calm down with that take.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I would. I'd also like to hear whispers about actual,
Speaker 4: you know, people feeling around for Justin Fields and having
Speaker 4: true interest in him. I mean that that could be
Speaker 4: happening without us knowing. But you're right, they're not the
Speaker 4: same player. I mean, if you're Matt Eberflus like you're
Speaker 4: you know, you had to move on from Rokwan Smith
Speaker 4: not so long ago, and that was the core centerpiece
Speaker 4: of your defense. Goes onto the Ravens to be one
Speaker 4: of the better linebackers in the entire league. So at
Speaker 4: some point you got so much Caprom and I know
Speaker 4: you're rebuilding, but like you got to keep some of
Speaker 4: these guys versus having to replace them. So this makes
Speaker 4: a ton of sense to me. And I would say, Greg,
Speaker 4: I think you noted this online at some point, but
Speaker 4: that Matt Eberflus, Uh, he's gone through the process that
Speaker 4: I think some of these coaches come in where they're
Speaker 4: coordinators and like they're a bit pasty, they're not in
Speaker 4: front of the camera. But now he's on the thing
Speaker 4: where he's looking a little more fit. He's got his
Speaker 4: hair done, he's grown his beard out, and he just
Speaker 4: looks about ten times better and more you know, biable
Speaker 4: as a head coach.
Speaker 3: Well, the Eberflus glow up has been a huge storyline
Speaker 3: this offseason. Showed up to the Combine looking good, had
Speaker 3: like was at a basketball game with Matt Lafleur and
Speaker 3: it was like, hmm, like who's more groomed Tierra. It
Speaker 3: was just Ibraflus is coming strong. He's a wacky personality.
Speaker 3: Both him and Jalen Johnson timed their career year as well,
Speaker 3: not saying Eberflus is never going to be better, but
Speaker 3: like five games into that season, I thought Eberflus is gone.
Speaker 1: And you're like, what is the vision here?
Speaker 3: And then it all kind of came together in terms
Speaker 3: of his defense really improving, and Jalen Johnson was a huge,
Speaker 3: huge part of that. And I think he was smart.
Speaker 3: He took like fifty five million guarantee. I saw someone
Speaker 3: be like, why didn't he just take the franchise tag
Speaker 3: and bet on himself Because it's like, if you have
Speaker 3: the option to take fifty five million dollars guaranteed versus twenty, Like,
Speaker 3: I don't care that I could make more in the
Speaker 3: long run if I didn't take the guarantee.
Speaker 1: I'm taking that guarantee the first time around. It's football.
Speaker 2: He could plan his leg and he could lose his
Speaker 2: ACLMCAL and his meniscus and then he's signing approve it
Speaker 2: deal after this sea He's also.
Speaker 3: Coming off a career year, Like if he had been
Speaker 3: free a free agent a year ago, he would not have.
Speaker 1: Had this contract. So he played the game right. Smart
Speaker 1: man laid it right.
Speaker 2: Also playing it right, Ravens defensive tackle Justin Madibuke, who
Speaker 2: signs a four year, ninety eight million dollar contract that
Speaker 2: includes over seventy five million in guaranteed money.
Speaker 1: The numbers are huge and.
Speaker 2: The salary cap keeps going up, so it makes sense anyway,
Speaker 2: the former third round pick. This is why the Ravens
Speaker 2: are always good, because they identify a guy like Mattabuke
Speaker 2: as a third round pick and now he's an All Pro,
Speaker 2: and now he's paid like an All Pro, which creates
Speaker 2: other challenges for the team, but they'll welcome them.
Speaker 3: Patrick said something I think it was on Mina Kimes' show.
Speaker 3: That is right, Like the prices always go up with
Speaker 3: these guys though, Like if the Ravens really knew Justin
Speaker 3: Mattoweke was this good, they could assign him to a
Speaker 3: deal about half this price a year ago, but they
Speaker 3: didn't know how he was going to play, and then
Speaker 3: he really exploded. And I like that the franchise tag players,
Speaker 3: some of them at least, are actually getting paid instead
Speaker 3: of just the tay.
Speaker 4: Yeah, like I think they're using that correctly. Look, he's
Speaker 4: only twenty six, so if we're worried about the Chris
Speaker 4: Jones age thing, this is like sweet spot to hire.
Speaker 2: Tyler Lockett also is sticking around, but maybe not a
Speaker 2: happy story for him. In the same way, he agrees
Speaker 2: to her structured two year, thirty four million dollar contract.
Speaker 2: He gets thirteen million in guaranteed money. That feels like
Speaker 2: to me, GREGI good value for Lockett, who has always
Speaker 2: been I thought, an underrated a receiver, and you already
Speaker 2: have a number one in DK and you couldn't ask
Speaker 2: for much better number two and Tyler who's been very
Speaker 2: good for them for many years.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the Lion has questions, but Gino's got
Speaker 3: a nice group of players around him. The fact though,
Speaker 3: that he took a pay cut, you know, indicates to
Speaker 3: me like if he wasn't going to take a pay cut,
Speaker 3: they would have been ready to move on. But I
Speaker 3: think it was only like a four million dollars pay cut.
Speaker 3: It was good for both sides. One of those guys
Speaker 3: that feels like you should be on the same team
Speaker 3: for his entire tenure in the NFL.
Speaker 2: Good news for the Dolphins toront Armstead. Their left tackle
Speaker 2: is not retiring. There had been some conversation or some
Speaker 2: speculation and that could be the case. So that is
Speaker 2: not gonna happen, So at least one more year in Miami.
Speaker 2: Great news mark for Tua.
Speaker 4: I mean, there's a lot of pressure on too, where
Speaker 4: there's a lot of players leaving that organization, some of
Speaker 4: the been offensive linemen, and like when when Armstead's in there,
Speaker 4: like the offense is completely different. We've talked about this
Speaker 4: at nauseam. When he's not in there, like the splits
Speaker 4: and what happens to two on some level are are
Speaker 4: vastly different. So, yes, this is a key person to
Speaker 4: keep around on a Dolphins team.
Speaker 2: In flux eight o'clock, de light hit it Eric Roberts,
Speaker 2: which Eric was with us, Go get go Ham with
Speaker 2: Eric and Austin, that'd be imagine.
Speaker 1: Let's get into it.
Speaker 2: The Rams give thirty two million guaranteed to guard Kevin
Speaker 2: Dotson Greg Quickie.
Speaker 3: A lot of money for Kevin Dotson that the guards
Speaker 3: are going to get paid big time in this market.
Speaker 2: That is a lot of Steelers release Patrick Peterson and
Speaker 2: Alan Robinson, two decorated veterans, well one more than the other.
Speaker 2: The Raiders resigned center Andre James. They also release Brian Hoyer,
Speaker 2: who impossibly is.
Speaker 1: Still in the league.
Speaker 2: The Chiefs resigned Drew Tranquil, and the Bears agree to terms.
Speaker 1: With Kevin Byard on a two year deal. Anything on
Speaker 1: that those mark.
Speaker 4: I love the Frank will resigning. I watched Brian Hoyer
Speaker 4: on Good Morning Football week or so ago. Thought he
Speaker 4: did a nice job. Media job ahead, Oh very nice.
Speaker 2: The Panthers are going to release center Bradley Boseman. The
Speaker 2: Packers will release slinebacker Devondre Campbell. Oh fully. Fatukasi signs
Speaker 2: a one year deal with the Texans. I was hoping
Speaker 2: maybe at Jets reunion there, but that's not the case.
Speaker 1: Anything on those Greggy.
Speaker 3: M always like me some Fatukasi, but the Jaguars didn't,
Speaker 3: so he couldn't have been playing too well.
Speaker 1: Alright, man, that's it. We got a little time for
Speaker 1: once out there. Didn't you redo it?
Speaker 3: The whole time these guards are making they're gonna like
Speaker 3: any free agent guard, like, there's gonna be a lot
Speaker 3: of guys you've never heard of that are making like
Speaker 3: seventeen million dollars guaranteed.
Speaker 4: Nailed it.
Speaker 2: Bang, What are we doing tonight? We're in Austin. What
Speaker 2: a great city. I love this place. I have never
Speaker 2: been so I you know we arrived about that. This
Speaker 2: is my terry is one of my favorite hats I
Speaker 2: go through my whole life. I've had a random hats
Speaker 2: that become my favorite hat for two years and this
Speaker 2: one is in hitting year one. Just like the look
Speaker 2: of it. I like the shape and the and Matt
Speaker 2: Tant and or old buddy that we used to work
Speaker 2: with at NFL Media who actually works out here now
Speaker 2: we're hoping to see him tonight, recommended this barbecue joint
Speaker 2: Terry Blacks. So that's an option. I think we need
Speaker 2: to hit up a barbecue place. Any people in the
Speaker 2: Austin area that our listeners please let us know where
Speaker 2: we should go for some authentic Texas BBQ.
Speaker 4: Where's Marquees as well? No, I'll go, I'll go where
Speaker 4: you and test it out, give it.
Speaker 1: You will eat the meat at the barbecue.
Speaker 4: It's always it's you know it's a arrive and assess
Speaker 4: it's an arrive.
Speaker 3: I was selling Mark, I was eating some pigs feet
Speaker 3: down in Korea time Saturday night.
Speaker 2: Uh, and you're you're leaning into that. That that side
Speaker 2: of Mark where he just sees it. The the just
Speaker 2: the visualization of it being disgusting. There's nothing grosser than
Speaker 2: the idea of a pig's foot being consumed by humans.
Speaker 4: I mean, Austin barbecue has a kind of ring to it.
Speaker 4: That I think you harks back to ancient times. So
Speaker 4: it's it's it's an easy sell.
Speaker 2: And yeah, you mentioned there's a iHeart and we are
Speaker 2: a part of the our Heart radio network through the NFL.
Speaker 2: So and they've always been very cool with us. So, uh,
Speaker 2: there's a private party and we're going to see the
Speaker 2: Black Keys. And I've always been you know, a white
Speaker 2: strip sky when it's all you know, black Keys via
Speaker 2: the White Stripes. But I'm gonna have an open mind
Speaker 2: and and check out the Keys tonight and you know,
Speaker 2: maybe we'll have a couple of drinks, we'll get get
Speaker 2: a little loose, but we need to be also focused, boys,
Speaker 2: because Free Agency Week is not something that that goes
Speaker 2: to the background just because we have a chance to
Speaker 2: win a major award.
Speaker 1: No, it's weird timing.
Speaker 3: It's the like, literally the biggest day transaction wise of
Speaker 3: the NFL calendar.
Speaker 2: In some ways, it feels like the beginning of the
Speaker 2: end of our show that we would be flying to
Speaker 2: another state in the middle of the country to try
Speaker 2: to win an award.
Speaker 1: When the this feels like that.
Speaker 2: Subreddit this feels like that U an entire post about
Speaker 2: this was the point the guys jumped the shark when they.
Speaker 1: Got We didn't have a choice, right, we got, We
Speaker 1: got on the plane. We didn't say no.
Speaker 2: We got on the plane to try to win an
Speaker 2: award at the start of free agency. I think it's
Speaker 2: telling and I think we should be ashamed. Quite frankly,
Speaker 2: it's up for translation. We'll be back on Tuesday in
Speaker 2: the studio. No regrets actually, because we could do the
Speaker 2: job just as well here, and we'll be back, as
Speaker 2: Greg said, Tuesday, and uh yeah, if we if we
Speaker 2: do win the award, you'll hear about it. If we
Speaker 2: lose the award, you'll hear about that too. So thank
Speaker 2: you for everybody, Thank you everybody for listening to this
Speaker 2: podcast one. I think we're gonna end doing at least
Speaker 2: five this week, So if you are looking to stay
Speaker 2: on top of everything with the new league year, you
Speaker 2: have found the right podcast.
Speaker 1: On Till Monday, I mean, I hope.
Speaker 2: I mean it's possible we're gonna have to do another
Speaker 2: one in about an hour and a half.
Speaker 1: The way the league is continues to move things up,
Speaker 1: I don't think so. All Right, till Monday, hit the
Speaker 1: car
Speaker 6: M